Steve Kerr was "thrilled" with the Golden State Warriors' opening night win over the Los Angeles Lakers as the coach recognised his defending champions are "not where we need to be".

The Warriors received their championship rings and unveiled their seventh banner on Tuesday following last season's NBA Finals defeat of the Boston Celtics.

A night of celebration was then capped with a first victory of the new campaign as the Warriors defeated the Lakers 123-109.

With so much else going on outside the game, coach Kerr was wary of the potential for an upset.

But even with the Warriors still looking to improve over the course of the season, he said, they "took care of business".

"I'm thrilled with the win," said Kerr. "Ring night is never an easy game, and the first game of the season is usually filled with some nerves early on.

"We're not where we need to be, but we took care of business."

Reigning Finals MVP Stephen Curry led the Warriors in scoring 33 points and was already thinking of a title defence.

"After tonight, the journey really begins in terms of everybody's best shot," Curry said. "You've got some really talented teams that are going to be gunning for you. You have to be ready for it all.

"It's going to be a really long journey, but this is why we play. We're competitive. This is why we work as hard as we do. We can't just sit there and look at that ring."